Changes are here, and a thank you

Well, so, here are those changes we mentioned yesterday.

Ball Star isn't going anywhere, and in fact, I'm planning on keeping it more active than last offseason. But Brad Doolittle -- the KC Star's spork -- has moved on and away from Upon Further Review, and the powers that be asked me to help out over there, at least for a while.

But please don't stop checking us out here. If you follow me on Twitter, you'll get a heads up whenever I post something here or on UFR.

My posts on UFR will be non-Royals related, and probably non-baseball. I am a ginormous sports nerd -- college football and basketball, NFL, MMA, lots of stuff -- so hopefully that will help me expand my reach a little bit. Your help is always welcome if you want to drop an e-mail at smellinger@kcstar.com.

You're owed the results of the Second Annual Very Official Ball Star Over-Under Challenge, and, now that I think about it, I'm embarrassed that last year's winner, Jeff Parker, still hasn't received his well-earned gift card to Red Lobster.

Jeff, you're a good man for not hounding me about this. I'll make a note to get that done this week.

At the risk of sounding cheesy, this seems like a good opportunity to thank each of you for your help. A blog can only be as good as the readers and commenters, and you've been terrific.

I'm constantly impressed by the civility and intelligence of the commenters here, especially when compared to other parts of our and other websites.

Thank you for that, and I'm looking forward to keeping this going.

Submitted by Sam Mellinger on October 6, 2009 - 7:52am.
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Sam and his gentile comments

Submitted by eggie on October 11, 2009 - 11:03am.

Oh, boy oh boy. I read all the negative comments about Sam and the assertions that he tries to gloss over Glass' sores.

Well, let me tell you, Sam, that I truly enjoy your posts. After getting beat up as a Royals fan all season, it's nice to read things that are critical, whimsical, fun, thoughtful and considerate.

If you want Royals-bashing for the simple sake of bashing, you can get that anywhere. If you want brutal honesty about the Royals, then just pay attention for a week. It's not like Sam's hiding some deep, dark secret. Heck, the Royals are bad. They're not getting any better. Sam's said that. Everyone's said that. Maybe all you guys who want Sam to "prove" that the Royals are bad just can't bring yourselves to say it yourselves.

Repeat after me: The Royals are a bad franchise with not much hope of turning it around any time soon.

See, that's not so difficult, is it?

On the other hand, we can still enjoy terrific performers like Butler, Zach, Olivo, and a few others. We don't have to be disappointed in the whole lot of them, do we?

Just wanted to say

Submitted by sw3519 on October 11, 2009 - 2:14am.

I listened to your end of season analysis of the Royals on the 610 podcast and it was awesome. I know you have to be objective in the paper so it was refreshing to hear your honest and somewhat brutal opinions on the team and its management.

word

Submitted by lakewoodroyal on October 9, 2009 - 2:35pm.

my daughter (5) asked me the other day when we were heading back to Sluggerr's house. Here was our exchange:

Me: well, we can't go anymore this year because the Royals are done playing.
Her: Did they win?
Me: No
Her: Can we still play on the rides?
Me: No
Her: What about that place right next to Sluggerr's house with all of the fences?
Me: you mean where the Chiefs play?
Her: yeah, do they have rides?
Me: No, but they probably should.
Her: Yeah, because they aren't very good either.

frozen custard wishes and carousel dreams...

See you on the flippy. Go Angels.

ribman,

Submitted by nogdode on October 8, 2009 - 2:45pm.

you're a joke. continue the good work sam.

Yes DumbTuck

Submitted by ribman on October 7, 2009 - 11:19pm.

Now is the time I begin to care what you think after a summer of reading your misinterpreted stats, making stats up and flat out lying to prove points that could not be proved -now is when I take what you say to heart. I realize you are a follow the crowd kind of guy and just go along to be accepted norms but some of us can still raise questions
and challenge people who claim they have expertise- Mr. Mellinger has a blog to present his ideas, and writes for our only major newspaper- so pardon me if I expect a little more from him than the drivil he's been peddling all summer. He claims to understand advanced statistical metrics but refuses to write about the clear conclusions those metrics say about the Royals. He can write all day about Grienke and Butler (that's pretty easy) but I don't see much analysis that helps explain why this team loses every year. Other sites do this (Royals Authority for 1-Raney for another-even Joe Poe is willing to challenge the team on his blog if not in print)I read a lot of excuses and excessive back slapping and at times ridiculous rationalizations (every Trey Hillman comment) Look at the managers in the playoffs DeathDumbBlindTuck Larussa, Torre, Scioscia Gardenhire- Francona -tell me managers don't matter- those teams do just as well with Bushyhillman at the helm?- right....
no Dumbtuck I'll decide when I want to depart but feel free to follow your own advice- Mr. Mellinger wants to have a public blog- guess what he doesn't get a free ride when I beleive he misrepresents the team he covers-
what fun would it be if every poster was a kissass wanna be like you.

Hey...

Submitted by Sam Mellinger on October 8, 2009 - 7:12am.

...first, no more Mr Mellinger, please. Second, and much more importantly, please keep this civil, especially to fellow posters.

The Royals had an incredibly bad season, which we wrote about plenty, in the paper* and on the blog**.

* A Sunday cover story calling this the most disappointing season in franchise history, for instance.

** The suggestions for Trey and Dayton to admit how bad they've been, for instance.

We've also written about how the Royals will likely be just as terrible next year because they boxed themselves in with bad multi-year contracts, or how Alex Gordon is in real danger of being a bust, or how incredibly terrible the defense is, or how the idea of David DeJesus as a Gold Glover is stupid, or how bad Jose Guillen's contract is, and, well, we all need to get with our days.

I'm sorry if we didn't do that enough for your liking.

Thanks for reading, but please, keep it civil.

Thanks, Sam

Submitted by Hooligan on October 9, 2009 - 6:01am.

Sam, thanks for the time and effort you put into this blog. I hope you continue to provide your perspective and insight here even while contributing to UFR. I always enjoy your posts and think they provide some good insight into the Royals.

...

Submitted by jtuck123 on October 8, 2009 - 6:51am.

Listen, I'm tired of hearing your crap. The Royals season is over. They suck. We know that. Sam knows that. The Kansas City Star knows that. Trey Hillman knows that. Dayton Moore knows that. The Royals themselves know that. Shall I continue?

"Now is the time I begin to care what you think after a summer of reading your misinterpreted stats, making stats up and flat out lying to prove points that could not be proved" - First Sam misinterprets them, then he progresses to making them up and finally ends with just flat out lying...Right, and of course you can prove that. I'll wait for your blog to come out...

"Mr. Mellinger has a blog to present his ideas, and writes for our only major newspaper- so pardon me if I expect a little more from him than the drivil he's been peddling all summer." - Mr. Mellinger has a blog to say whatever the heck he wants. He doesn't have to be statistically correct. It's a flippin blog! He writes for the newspaper AS A JOB. He does this blog for two reasons: 1. There are things that he cannot write about in the Kansas City Star. For instance, he wouldn't want to write an article on how he thinks Miguel Cabrera shouldn't be on the MVP ballot. He works in Kansas City, not Detroit. 2. This is free advertising for the Star and he can get a different perspective on what Kansas City thinks about it's sports teams. On a lesser note, learn how to spell. (Drivel, not drivil)

"He claims to understand advanced statistical metrics but refuses to write about the clear conclusions those metrics say about the Royals." - Why do that when UFR already does? I'm pretty sure he'd be repeating himself...no sense in that.

"He can write all day about Grienke and Butler (that's pretty easy) but I don't see much analysis that helps explain why this team loses every year." - You know why he doesn't do analysis' that explain why this team loses every year? Because it's not that hard! The Royals have 1 great starter in the rotation. The rest have 4+ ERA's. The Royals bullpen is BAD! The Royals don't hit many home runs. They have terrible OBP. They strikeout way too much. They aren't good with RISP. They got hurt a lot. What more do you need? Did you read any of the "Unsolicited Advice" posts? Is that not critical enough for you?

"Look at the managers in the playoffs DeathDumbBlindTuck Larussa, Torre, Scioscia Gardenhire- Francona -tell me managers don't matter- those teams do just as well with Bushyhillman at the helm?" - Real smooth...I'd hate to be Death, Dumb and Blind...Golly gee mister, that would be horrible! I'm not gonna say that managers don't matter, I believe they do. You can have a bad manager with a good team in the playoffs, but you'll never see a good manager with a terrible team in the playoffs. Managers don't play, they manage. Give Joe Torre crap to manage and he might make an exact replica of "The Thinker". NEWS FLASH: It's still crap. Quick question...How many games does a manager win on his own throughout a full MLB season? Are you pondering what I'm pondering?

"Mr. Mellinger wants to have a public blog- guess what he doesn't get a free ride when I beleive he misrepresents the team he covers- what fun would it be if every poster was a kissass wanna be like you." - Well, my first thought would be, "Hmmm...maybe some sensible and constructive criticizm about how the Royals could improve upon their poor play in the future". Oh wait, that's too nice...Maybe I should rail on Sam because he writes things that are purposefully incorrect and he must be the biggest idiot in the world. Wait, that's already done...

POINT: This has been a great blog regardless of anything that has come out of your...mouth. Next time that you decide that you know more than a journalist who's job it is to cover a certain sport, put your resume in. I'm sure there are plenty of papers out there who need good sports coverage. Go get 'em Tiger!
JT

Enjoy the blog

Submitted by TH on October 7, 2009 - 4:32pm.

I really enjoy the blog--it's my escape from work. I definitely don't see this blog as "shilling" for the Royals. I like the even-handed approach, which, I think, has pointed plenty of criticism at the Royals.

I'll miss the frequency of debates during the off-season.

I would really like to see a analysis/discussion on the merits of various fielders (esp 2B and SS) combined with hitting stats to weigh the candidates going into next season.

Keep up the good work!

THel

My dad thought he heard

Submitted by pjbronco on October 7, 2009 - 3:52pm.

My dad thought he heard something on yesterday's Twins/Tigers game about the Royals trading Farnsworth and Colon to the Braves. I wasn't watching right then so missed it. I can't find anything about it anywhere in the cyber-sports world. Anybody have any info?

Thanks for the great summer!

Submitted by Montana Royal on October 7, 2009 - 8:28am.

Thanks for the great summer of work, Sam! You come at this blog from a point of reference similar to a lot of us, and I appreciate the honest, even demeanor and thoughtful analysis. you're truly a professional, ribman posts notwithstanding.

BL, Bozeman

No, thank you!

Submitted by Karte on October 7, 2009 - 7:34am.

Hi Sam,

I, for one, appreciate your writing (except for the campaign you started to rename the stadium-you almost lost me on that one). Keep up the good work, and you can leave the Star for SI, too.

Mr. Ribman has the mistaken idea that you are employed by the Royals - don't worry about him.

I bet Michelangelo had people standing on the floor of the Cistine(SP?) Chapel, pointing out mistakes as he went. "Those that can't...criticize."

Planning for Next Season

Submitted by ribman on October 6, 2009 - 4:57pm.

concerning the amount of blatant shilling for Royals do you plan to
increase (can't imagine much room left)
stay the same
or decrease and actually act like a journalist

Sam you are the Don Fortune of print journalism- way to go big guy

if you respond please include a "The manager doesn't matter" quote with a Billy Butler kiss and 1 Zach grienke lovefest- if you do all 3 in one I get a bingo.

Keep avoiding the other 50 things that keeps the team from winning

...

Submitted by jtuck123 on October 7, 2009 - 5:50am.

^^^ - continues to amaze me at why he still participates in this blog...If you don't like something, don't participate. Simple as that...now, I hope you forget this post and continue to make idiotic ramblings here so we don't have to listen to your stupidity on UFR...Good day.
JT

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Interviews

Gil Meche: The older brother of the Royals' rotation talks bowling, collecting baseball cards, and sliders

Very good first-day turnout on Twitter. Thank you. If you're on and haven't found me, I'm at "mellinger." Let's join up, we'll have fun.

You may have noticed we didn't have an MGD update after the weekend, and that's because of a bonus weekend post on SI coverboy/comedian Zack Greinke, and that Davies' start on Thursday means we won't miss a week with an MGD update.

Zack Greinke: Ball Star's most requested interview subject talks trucks, fighting, and trash

Zack Greinke, for a lot of reasons, might be the most interesting player on the Royals roster, and this is a team that includes an outfielder who owns lions and ostriches and likes to be slapped in the face, a pitcher who was knighted by his native Aruba, another who works construction in the offseason, and a reliever who body slams opposing players and prides himself on his baking.

Greinke is the most-requested interview for this blog, and if you act now, you can read a bonus interview where Kyle Davies defends himself against what he alleges is Greinke's slander. All in good fun.

Army Maj. Michael Lalor: Rooting on the Royals from Iraq

Confession time. That "contest" we ran here
was officially won by Tom Barkwell from Madagascar, and I loved both his words and the fact that he sent them from an island nation in the Indian Ocean, but I gotta tell you, it wasn't my favorite letter.

Nope, my favorite came from Army Maj. Michael Lalor, whose words came from Iraq.

I didn't mention this in the original contest because I wanted to give Michael his own post. He was kind enough to answer some questions over e-mail, which we're turning into the latest interview. His letter is below our e-mail exchange.

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